As of 2023, the ineligibility applies to those who have been in Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 (with some exceptions), or in Cuba on or after January 12, 2021, or who are nationals of Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan or Syria.

In the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many requirements were added for VWP visitors: a machine-readable passport, from October 1, 2003, for some VWP countries, and from June 26, 2005, for all VWP countries;[4] a passport with a digital photograph printed directly on it, if issued from October 26, 2005; a biometric passport, if issued from October 26, 2006;[5] an electronic authorization before travel by air or sea, from January 12, 2009; and a fee to obtain such authorization, from September 8, 2010.

The original version of this bill would not add any restrictions on VWP visitors, but would only clarify that ineligibility due to a security risk included terrorism, allow the suspension of countries from the program if they did not share the required security information about their nationals traveling to the United States, and require some reports by government agencies to Congress.

The amended bill was renamed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.

2029, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, whose final version was passed by the House and Senate on December 18, 2015, and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on the same day.

[2] Sudan was removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on December 14, 2020,[14] but as of 2023 it was still included as a country of concern for the VWP restrictions.

[3] These restrictions do not apply to other visa waivers, such as for nationals of certain North American jurisdictions and countries with a Compact of Free Association.

[15] The American Civil Liberties Union wrote: "We urge Congress to exercise caution and to avoid passing legislation that would broadly scapegoat groups based on nationality, and would fan the flames of discriminatory exclusion, both here and abroad.

"[16] Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, in an article for The New York Times, wrote: "All countries should do their best to stop people who pose a genuine security threat, regardless of what papers they may carry.